A cloister encloses a garden or courtyard while remaining open to it through arches, balancing retreat with attention to the world. This structure gives poets an image for meditation that does not entirely withdraw from life. Walking its circuit can suggest recurrent thought, prayer, grief, or revision. In a poem, the central court may hold what cannot be spoken directly, while the surrounding walkway carries the speaker through repeated approaches, pauses, and partial recognitions.

A cloister combines enclosure with an open center: its covered walk protects the walker while the courtyard remains exposed to light and weather. In poetry, this contrast can express solitude without complete isolation, or thought circling a central absence. Its repeated sides can also suggest ritual, meditation, and refrain.